“Plástica”, “acrílica”, “vinílica”, “esmalte”, “de silicato”, “de cal”: the names are confusing. This guide explains what each type is, using manufacturer data sheets and a study by LNEC (Portugal’s national civil engineering laboratory), and when each one makes sense. It does not compare brands or pick a winner. To choose by room, see which paint for each room.
Updated 3 November 2026. General information, not a substitute for a technician’s assessment.
The essentials
- “Tinta plástica” is the everyday Portuguese name for water-based paints (thinned and washed off with water). The real difference is the resin: vinyl, acrylic or a mix.
- “Esmalte” does not mean solvent. CIN sells a 100% acrylic water-based enamel for walls and a synthetic enamel for wood and metal only.
- Resin paints form a film. LNEC warns that on old lime-rendered walls this film can trap water and cause blistering and flaking.
- Mineral paints (silicate, lime, siloxane) let vapour through and are alkaline. They need care and must not go over plastic paint.
- The data sheet says more than the name. Look for resin, sheen, scrub class, vapour permeability and VOC.
The names, one by one
Plástica, vinílica, acrílica. These are emulsion paints in water. The Dyrustar sheet (Dyrup) calls it a “tinta plástica” and lists vinyl copolymers. Vinylmatt (CIN) is a “water-based vinyl paint”. Barbosilk (Barbot) uses acrylic copolymers, and Barbot’s kitchen and bathroom paint uses a styrene-acrylic resin. For LNEC, “plastic, acrylic or PVA” paints are one group: paints that form a film.
Water-based enamel. Cinacryl Acetinado is described as a 100% acrylic water-based enamel for interior walls where more washability is wanted, and also for wood and metal. On a wall it behaves like a satin acrylic paint.
Synthetic enamel. Sintecin Satinado (CIN) is a synthetic enamel for wood and metal, indoors or outdoors. Its sheet says to clean previously painted wood and metal with a suitable thinner and gives a VOC maximum of 300 g/L. It is not a wall paint.
Silicate. A silicate paint sheet (Dissoltin) describes potassium silicate with under 5% organic content, for facades and also interiors, on mineral surfaces.
Lime. The Com-Cal sheet (exterior) describes CL90 air lime, matt, pH 13.
Siloxane. CIN’s Cinoxano Mineral is a water-based polysiloxane paint for facades with a mineral look.
Comparison, from the sheets read
| Product | Resin | Sheen | Wet scrub (EN 13300) | Water vapour | VOC max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinylmatt (CIN) | vinyl | total matt | class 1 | exterior V1 (high) | 6 g/L |
| Barbomat (Barbot) | vinyl copolymers | matt | class 1 | V1 (high) | 27 g/L |
| Barbosilk (Barbot) | acrylic copolymers | satin | class 1 | not stated | 12 g/L |
| Cinacryl Acetinado (CIN) | acrylic | satin | class 1 | sd 0.14 to 1.4 m | 91 g/L |
| Silicate (Dissoltin) | potassium silicate | matt | not applicable | class V1 | 15 g/L |
| Cinoxano Mineral (CIN) | polysiloxane | matt | not applicable | V1, sd < 0.10 m | 39 g/L |
The sd value is the thickness of air that resists vapour as much as the coating: the lower it is, the more the wall “breathes”. The legal VOC limits for interior walls are 30 g/L for matt and 100 g/L for glossy, as explained in which paint for each room. That is why the satin enamel, at 91 g/L, still meets category A/b (100 g/L).
What LNEC says about films and old walls
In a 2002 paper (Maria do Rosário Veiga and Martha Tavares), LNEC says plastic, acrylic or PVA paints work badly on old building walls. They form a film that waterproofs the surface and changes how the wall handles water, and they often bond poorly to fragile lime renders. Blistering, cracking and flaking follow, and salts can crystallise under the paint. The paper is about facades of old buildings, not interiors, but the mechanism explains why paint fails on a wall that is still damp. See peeling paint, blisters and stains and salt on walls.
The same study measured sd on render samples: 0.14 m unpainted, 0.15 m with plain limewash and 0.17 to 0.21 m with three silicate paints. It found that limewash does not hinder drying of the wall, while silicate paints slow it moderately. It also noted that limewash with resin and casein absorbs less water, and that too much resin cuts vapour permeability sharply.
Care with mineral paints
- Silicate: do not apply over conventional, plastic paints or enamels (Dissoltin and CIN SIL-K sheets). Dissoltin says to remove the old paint fully. CIN SIL-K warns that it reacts with glass and aluminium and that the look can turn patchy, which cannot be avoided.
- Lime and silicate: strongly alkaline products. Wear gloves and goggles, and Com-Cal also asks for a respirator.
- Siloxane: the CIN sheet lists cement and lime renders, brick and stone, mainly on facades.
When to use which
- Ordinary interior wall, rendered or plasterboard: vinyl or acrylic plastic paint. Pick sheen and scrub class by room.
- A wall you will wash a lot: scrub class 1, acrylic or water-based enamel. Vinylmatt asks for 28 days before the first wash.
- Wood and metal: enamel, water-based or synthetic as the sheet says. Never synthetic on a wall.
- Old house with lime render: ask a technician before adding a film. Lime, silicate or siloxane are the options LNEC and the sheets point to for mineral render.
- Damp stain or mould: no type fixes the cause. See damp walls.
For quantities, use the calculator and the guide how much paint do I need.
What we could not confirm
- An official definition of “tinta plástica”. It is a trade term. Descriptions come from the sheets.
- Vapour permeability of several interior resin paints. Barbosilk and Vinylmatt (indoors) do not state it in the sheets read.
- The vapour class of Dissoltin’s silicate paint. The sheet calls it V1 but gives the range 0.14 to 1.4 m, which the CIN Vedaflex sheet assigns to V2. We could not resolve the difference.
- The sd of the lime paint. The Com-Cal sheet gives µ = 15, not sd. We did not read the interior lime paint sheet.
- EN 13300 and EN 1062-1. They are paid standards. We used the sheets.
- LNEC’s result on interior walls. The study is from 2002 and covers exteriors.
- Prices and comparative durability. No reliable source.
Sources (read on 3 November 2026)
- CIN, Technical bulletin Vinylmatt 10-250, rev. July 2026.
- CIN, Technical bulletin Cinacryl Acetinado 12-220, rev. July 2026.
- CIN, Technical bulletin Cinoxano Mineral 10-111, rev. July 2026.
- CIN, Sintecin Satinado 48-261, rev. December 2016 (retailer copy).
- CIN, SIL-K 10-150, May 2011 (third-party copy).
- Dissoltin, Tinta de Silicato FT102.04, rev. 1, January 2023.
- Com-Cal, Tinta de Cal para Exteriores data sheet, edition of 26/04/2024.
- Barbot, sheets 1302 Barbomat (Rev. 15), 1200 Barbosilk (Rev. 13) and 1601 Cozinhas e Casas de Banho (Rev. 08).
- PPG Dyrup, Dyrustar, ITC 839, December 2017 (retailer copy).
- LNEC, Maria do Rosário Veiga and Martha Tavares, Características das paredes antigas. Requisitos dos revestimentos por pintura, APTETI, October 2002 (sections 4 and 5).